It seems it’s the end of the road for Saara Aalto on the X Factor UK. Sadly, the Finnish star exited the show during tonight’s Six Chair Challenge. It came after her spirited defense of herself and an attempt at singing a second song on-the-spot.
The Finnish singer made it through the Bootcamp stage last week, but it seems that this was a step too far. Saara performed the Ed Sheeran song “I See Fire” on the SSE Arena stage during tonight’s show. We were feeling it and so were Nicole and Simon…but not Sharon Osbourne. Booooo.
Saara Aalto — I See Fire
The Six Chair Challenge, for those of you who don’t know the format, sees acts perform in front of all four judges and an arena audience. The judge in charge of each category decides if an act has done well enough to “take a chair” and become part of their final six. The sting in the tail comes if a judge wants to add a contestant that performs once all six chairs on offer are taken. That contestant must take another acts chair, eliminating the previous act.
It sounds harsh and it really is. It’s been highly criticised in the UK media as being “too cruel” to put some of the acts through. Saara, unfortunately, came on to the stage with all six seats filled and Sharon just couldn’t remove one of them for her it seems.
.@saaraaalto sang “I See Fire” on #xfactor and @NicoleScherzy + @SimonCowell felt the heat ???? So mad at @MrsSOsbourne pic.twitter.com/mB5r9sX0ol
— wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) September 25, 2016
Nicole Scherzinger was seen supporting Saara to begin with. After all, Saara made “want to twerk right now” in her original audition. Scherzinger said that “if it were me, I’d give you a seat”.
Unfortunately, when Saara tried to sing once more, she made a big error, performing a song in French that the audience just did not get behind. Even Nicole had to come back at her, telling her “this was your one shot,” adding “this ain’t France!”
Saara did have some good fun though with Roman Kemp, the show’s digital presenter. She showed off her “princess voice”, as she performed in Frozen:
Check this out! Me, my Princess Voice and @romankemp ???? https://t.co/QmRxA8ytTq
— Saara Aalto (@saaraaalto) September 25, 2016
But it might not be all over for Saara just yet. Spoiler alert: each judge will also gain a “wildcard” act for Judges Houses.
That decision will be made by the other three judges, so Saara could still have more time in the competition after all.
Will her original audition and Nicole’s support then help her through after all? Saara also happens to be in London, just two weeks before the live shows start…
What did you think of Saara Aalto’s performance tonight? Do you think she should have stayed on the show after all? Let us know in the comments section below.
Where’s Bianca?
Back in July, media reported that Eurovision: You Decide singer Bianca Claxton had given a very impressive audition to The X Factor judges. Judge Sharon Osborne was even reported to have picked Bianca as a “potential winner”.
But it doesn’t look like things worked out for the “Shine a Little Light” singer. She was not featured in the audition episodes, and by the time the bootcamp round came along, there was no sign of Bianca.
We can only assume that Bianca was either eliminated or chose to withdraw from the competition for other reasons. But given how popular her You Decide performance was, perhaps Bianca should have another attempt at representing the UK in 2017!
Update at 22:00GMT: SAARA WINS WILDCARD!
I remember this guy named Alejandro Fernandez that sang in spanish in the X Factor UK and the audience loved it. Maybe Sara wasn’t singing that well and the problem wasn’t the language…
https://youtu.be/p8ouBNsOrIM?t=107
#TeamJustin – you may be right. The difference being that the Eurovision contest doesn’t present itself as a launchpad for a stellar career. Some contestants may see it that way – but that is not it’s raison d’etre – unlike The X Factor, at least ostensibly.
@Jonas
Louisa Johnson won last year and unlike Jamala, her collab with Clean Bandit has been a smash hit throughout Europe and the Americas (Mexico and USA) so even though the X Factor may be a TV program, they manage to find Talent… Ella Henderson, One Direction, Leona Lewis, Olly Murs, James Arthur, Little Mix, Fleur East, Cher Lloyd, Jedward, Union J, JLS and more… and as much as I love Eurovision, if an artist wants a serious career, Eurovision is out of the option for many Western European contestants,
Honestly, she lost it completely when they gave her the second chance, I couldn’t believe how bad that was.
Also, the booing wasn’t because she singing in french, she was COMPLETELY out of tune.
Saara gave the audience too much credit in thinking they’d appreciate her French song. These are the same hicks who voted for Brexit. I’m glad she got through though, even if it does mean more shameless exploitation all in the name of TV. Who won again last year? Whatever happened to him/her? That’s right – it was all a waste of time.
Don’t bother singing to British in another language , they don’t understand with their insular arrogance, just like Americans ..
Xfactor UK is soo contrived and shallow ..
She’s the wildcard!!!!!
Saara has been picked as a wildcard so she is still in the show and will be at judges houses
I hope she hasn’t had fear of getting cut
Whoever thinks singing in French was a good idea, is a fool for me. It’s British X Factor. The British are proud, this is their competition, their language. When Saara started in French I was like: you are the stupidest contestant there ever was.
And she expects too much. She thinks too much of herself. That’s not what X Factor is searching for.
@Mvaneijk97 Nicole? Don’t you mean Sharon, since she’s the mentor of Overs?
@Confusion, I totally agree with your comment, especially with the second part!
On the other hand, we give too much fuzz about a girl who came only second in UMK. And now she showed her real face…
Mvaneijk97: thank God! 🙂 They have still be considering her for too long, I would have dropped her at the auditions just for being a tough and reppelent character.
Gag of the century. That’s all I’ll say
Je Suis Malade is a very well known French song and I’ve seen it being performed on other talent shows in other countries. I understand the song might not be appropriate for UK audience, but such a huge overreaction and especially not having the idea about the song or French language really tells more about them. 🙁 Saara might have messed it up, but again, if that woman, who claims that she is nothing but a doll and is totally nuts, can be on the chair, then really anyone can. The worst mistake that Saara did was being arrogant and… Read more »
There is a rumour she’s going to be invited back for judges houses though, either as a wildcard or replacement for one of the acts who couldn’t get a visa
It wasn’t all her fault. Those songs are so weirdly arranged that every performer’s timing just seems off. It’s terrible. But I’m guessing she’ll get the wildcard though
Should have sung No Fear.
Wildcard for her.
Saara Aalto has a great, great voice, but Sharon hit the nail on the head when she said that she felt a disconnect. That’s exactly it. That is the same problem I always come back to with her. That’s the thing that keeps her from winning all the competitions she participates in. I hear her, but I don’t feel her.
I think “I See Fire” didn’t really suit her, tbh.
But it was unfair to boo her just because she sang in French. That’s ridiculous.
Just watched it. She was stupid singing in French. I hope she gets the wildcard though. The French was so out of tune and actually hilarious.
She fight and got second chance and screwed up so bad that I can’t even think. Was one of my favourites.
#JusticeForSaaraAalto